River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-12-01
WRECKED BY A nEArER.

A Boiler in the Kitchen of the Kirby
House. Milwaukee, ExpIodes-A Woman
Killed and Number of Girls More or
Less Seriously Hurt.
MILWAUKEE, Wis, Nov 2o.-For several
blocks around the Kirby House duh deto-
nation was heard at $50 O'Clock yesterday
morning, followed by shock as though a
great volume of compressed air had been
suddenly liberated People in the immedi-
ate vicinity OF the hotel heard the rum
bling OF falling walls, the crash of glass in
q hundred windows shivered into a thou
sand splinters the frenZied shrteks of
women in pain or terror and saw a huge
metal object rise high in the air through
the very center of the building and then
fall upon the tarred roof with bang. IL
was an explosion which wrecked the
rear part of the hotel between the wings
and the main building from the base
ment to the top floor. burying wholly or
partly a dozen of the dining-room and
kitchen girls ard several of the male enI-
plOyes Of the hotel killing one woman out
right and injuring twenty other persons,
two seriously and perhaps fatally The
water boiler in the kitchen, which caused the
explosion, shot upward like bullet from a
gun. crashing through three interven-
ing floors and the roof as though the parti-
tions were issue paper, and rose some thirty
or forty feet above the building Mrs T. NJ
Gage, the second cook in the Kirby House,
was killed instantly. The wo- nded are:
Anna Kennedy, back broken and otherwise
seriously injured; Carrie Ellufson, very badly
broken and otherwise injured; Maggie Carri-
gan, badly scalded; Mary ArbucKle, badly
bruised; Maggie Doran, bruised and sealdeu
Nora Dougherty, ribs broken and
badly bruised; Alice Batch, bruised, not
seriously; Julia Feitmeyer, injured
.about the head; William Kroeger ankle
sprained and bruised; Sandford Beekwith,
slightly cut and bru. sed; Nellie Thompson,
face cut badly and one eye injured and part of
one ear gone; Maggie Theis, head and hands
cut; Annie Meyer, face cut; Katie Killan, face
and hands badly cut; Emma Salzer, similar
injuries: Gussie Te.ga, ear badly cut; Charles
ZiOng. wrist badly cut
just across the narrow alley in the rear of
the hotel is the west wall of the Sentinel
building. The terrific force of the explosion
shattered every window facing on the alley,
hurled bricks, broken fragments of glass
and other missiles into the bindery on the
lower floor in the rear of the counting room,
and injured six of tn girls and one of the
boys employed there. Facing two OF the
bind sry windows is bench at which a
dozen bindery girls were seated engaged in
work. When the missiles were hurled
through the windows, and some of them the
entire length OF the room, they received the
full shock right in their faces, and the only
wonder is that they were not all killed.
When the Tls felt the bits of glass cutting
their faces they set up chorus of screams,
and with bleeding ia es rushed out into the
counting-room, through the front door of
the budding and across the street, with the
exception of Nellie Thompson, who tainted
when she had run half way across the room.
People attracted to the main entrance of
the hotel on East Water street saw a frantic
loL of guests and chambermaids tumbling
downstairs and madly rushing for the door,
crushing each other into jam against the
in-openng doors in their anxiety to reach
the street. while those in front crushed
Their fists through the glass regardless of
cut hands, ter only thought being 10 get
out of a building which they supposed was
about to fall upon them.
A moment later and the fire department
came rafting to the scene. The men
grabbed their implements, and with no
heed to personal danger rushed into the
pile OF debris to rescue the wounded aud
recover the dead A number of the firemen
braced the threatening floor overhead,
threw ropes over and around it, and in that
their comrades dug aud sought in the rub
Dish and timbers for those who might be
buried there.
OF those who had been buried in the pile
of fallen walls and timbers all but one were
soon extracted an given immediate care.
This one, Mrs Gage, could not be found for
several hours, when her dead body was dis
covered in the alley under n huge mass OF
wreckage. The body was horribly mutilated,
the face being utterly unrecOgnizable. She
WIS widow and leaves one son, aged
years. At the time of the c.denG she was
engaged directly behind the fatal heater.
Her death must have been instantaneous.
The front apartments of the hotel were
transformed into q temporary hospital,
where tender hands and members of the
medical profession did all within their pow
er to alleviate the sufferngs of the victims.
The explosion was evidently caused by
some OF the pipes about the range and
water-tank having been frozen during the
night The force of the explosion, direct
upon the hot water tank, was sufficient to
force it upwards through four floors and
the roof 1t was found on the roof of the
hotel, twenty feet from the hole through
which it had forced it's way
The wounded were all doing well last
night, and IT, e physicians were of the opinion
that all would recover except Annie Kennedy
and Carrie Olson, who are still in dan
ger. Mary Arbuckle, of Chicago, is
able to sit up and will certainly re-
cover. Experts say that considerable
portion of the rear wall will have tC
come down The house is strongly built
one on the old fashioned plan, with division
walls and partitions of brick This fact
eaVed the building and prevented the &C
cident from being worse. Guests OCCUPY
rooras as usual, but no meals can be served
The damage TO the building is about ga, DOC
or So, ZOO.
THE KIRBY House is one OF the pioneer
hotels OF the Northwest and is perhaps mosi
widely known of any of the hotels in Nil
waulEee. II was built in 1914 by Daniel Wells
Jr. who intended IL for a kind of boarding
house. A year later 1t was opened ss hotel
under the name OF the City. The origina
structure was 60x50 feet, and two-and-ole-hal
stories h Oh. The lower floor was occupied o.
pos -office. In 1916 Abner Kirby bought
/ half interest and the proprietors built an ad
I d ton 70x3! feet. In 1854 II was leased to Ed
wara Burton who opened 1t as the Walker
House, pamed for George Walker. Under hi:
I management IL was reputed to be the best hote
/ on the upper lakes. In five years Mr.. Burton
made about los, 90 and retired. In 1855 Mr. Kirby
became the proprietor, built an addition OF
Z East Water street 40xl20 feet, raised the OLD
/ hotel, and named il the Kirby House. From
I that time to 1879 1t was run by Mr.. X rby and
/ his faIher-in-law. Mr. Case. Toe latter thel
| ret red. and Mr.. KIRBY managed the house IN
/ til about year ago, when Beckwith & Josslyn
/ the present managers, took charge OF IL. Th'
/ hotel now has front ge of 1OOx1 feet on thu
southeast cornel vi Mason and East Water